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PROMINENT opposition election lawyer Sixto Brillantes,
a staunch critic of Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos,
supports the Comelec’s stand that it is now almost impossible to
automate—even partially—the May elections.
Another opposition figure, the
Senate minority leader, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., holds the same view.
So do many other opposition politicians.
In contrast, President Arroyo,
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and proadministration Sen.
Richard Gordon, among others, are pressing Abalos to get on with
partial automation.
Why is there such a
difference?
The Times has talked to two major
political figures of the opposition who suspect that Malacañang,
and possibly Gordon too, are setting up Abalos to be blamed for a
“failure of election in many parts of the country.”
The two politicians asked The
Times not too divulge their names because all they had were
suspicions and they did not wish to be accused of being alarmist.
Besides, they said, their fellow members of the opposition camp are
so sure of winning in the May elections—that “they would not
welcome our talk of election failure.”
“If there is failure of
election then maybe they can declare an emergency and preserve the
status quo indefinitely,” one of the two politicians said.
“There’s no way that the
Comelec can fully computerize the coming elections,” Brillantes
told The Manila Times even if the bill that President Arroyo signed
into law just a few days ago, amending the election modernization
law, makes it compulsory for the poll body to implement it.
But if Sen. Richard Gordon,
Brillantes added, would insist on full automation, then “he
[Gordon] better teach the Comelec what to do because they don’t
know. Still, I will file a complaint against him.”
Brillantes explained that for the
Comelec to fully implement an automated election system (AES) it
must have enough time to properly invite bidders for the needed
technology. Then it has to train and orient personnel to apply the
technology. He cited other things that must be done.
“It is physically
impossible,” Brillantes stressed, adding that he does not see any
logic on Gordon’s and Malacañang’s insistence on Abalos and the
Comelec to do something impossible now.
The amendatory law (RA 93691)
refers to the AES as a system using appropriate technology which has
been demonstrated in the voting, counting, consolidating and
transmission of election results and other electoral processes.
Charge Abalos?
Gordon, author of the Senate
version of the law, said that Abalos could be charged with
culpable violation of the Constitution, a ground for impeachment, if
he fails to implement even partial automation.
The senator insists that the
Comelec still has time to conduct a bidding for the purpose.
Is Abalos being forced to get the
Comelec to conduct a bidding? To this Brillantes said he is inclined
to believe it but he refused to elaborate.
There are allegations that a
well-connected IT firm is just waiting for the Comelec to call a
bidding for the AES.
But Brillantes also believes that
the Comelec could still pursue the electronic transmission of votes
as earlier espoused by Abalos.
He said the Comelec need not
conduct a bidding for the electronic transmission because it could
already use the VSAT (very small aperture terminal) machines
it purchased in 2004.
The Supreme Court, however, has
prohibited the use of the VSAT machines, just like the controversial
automated counting machines, which the Comelec purchased for P1.3
billion from the Mega Pacific Consortium.
But Brillantes explained that the
prohibition by the Court then was only because of the lack of an
enabling law.
“The Comelec could use it now
because there is already a law,” Brillantes pointed out. Abalos
has expressed misgivings about the automation, saying it is no
longer possible.
“It is the consensus of the
Comelec National Advisory Council,” Abalos said. “The possible
suppliers, vendors and manufacturers of the machines and technology
have also given up on the idea.” He said the supplier and
manufacturers of the equipment for the automated polls gave the
Comelec until January 5 to sign a contract with them. “What’s
the date now. It’s impossible to do it even in pilot areas,” the
Comelec chief said.
Senate took too long
Abalos had said there were plans
to electronically transmit the results of the elections in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the entire Metro Manila except
Makati City, one city each in the Visayas and Mindanao and Batanes.
But the Senate took too long to
pass its version of the amendatory bill leaving the bicameral
conference committee little time to discuss the proposed measure, he
said.
Advisory council
Just the same, the Comelec will
convene tomorrow (Monday) the advisory council, as mandated under
the new law, to discuss the automation system.
The Comelec spokesman, Director
James Jimenez, doubted if the meeting would achieve anything as the
poll body is racing against time and lack of funds.
“The advisory council will
discuss it but I can almost predict what it will say on automating
the coming elections,” Jimenez told The Times.
The council is composed of
representatives from the Commission on Information and
Communications Technology and one member each from the Departments
of Science and Technology and Education and the academe, three
members from ICT professional organizations and two representing
nongovernmental electoral reform groups.
Pimentel has always agreed with
Abalos that automation should be dropped for now because of lack of
time.
With just four months left before
the elections, Pimentel said it is simply impossible for the Comelec
to set up the automated election system.
He warned that a hastily
implemented computerized voting and counting process will only have
disastrous results even if it will cover only six provinces and six
cities.
Under the final version of the
proposed Automated Election Act ratified by the Senate and House of
Representatives, partial poll automation will cover six provinces
and six highly-urbanized cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in
2007. Full automation will be implemented in 2010.
Flawed proposal
“That is really a flawed
proposal. And I think the Comelec is acting prudently by deciding
not to go ahead with the automation of the coming elections,”
Pimentel said.
The minority leader said the
Comelec needs a much longer time (than four months) to bid out the
automation project, procure the vote and counting machines, test the
machines, train elections personnel on their use and educate voters
about the new system.
Pimentel recalled that Comelec
was given 13 months to computerize the May 2004 elections but the
automation contract awarded to the winning bidder, MegaPacific
consortium, was voided by the Supreme Court due to legal infirmities
in the contract and defects in the automated counting machines.
He said what he had proposed was
the pilot testing of the automated electoral system in two
provinces, two cities and two municipalities.
“Automation should not cover
too many areas because if it falters, that will wreck the elections.
Millions of voters may be disfranchised and this is very unfair to
them,” he said.
Pimentel said the huge number of
votes in the six provinces and six cities covered by the proposed
partial automated electoral system is enough to decide the fate of
the senatorial candidates.
The Comelec abandoned the plan to
automate the 2007 polls upon the recommendation of its advisory
council which came out with an assessment that time constraints make
it impossible to implement the project.
Pimentel said that with or
without automation, there should be a revamp of the leadership of
the Comelec to restore public confidence in the poll body, which was
severely impaired by the fraud-tainted May 2004 presidential
election.
He said three Comelec
commissioners suffer from serious credibility problem because of
their involvement in the anomalous P1.3-billion poll automation
contract.
But he said three other Comelec
members who were appointed after the 2004 elections—Commissioners
Romeo Brawner, Rene Sarmiento and Nicodemo Ferrer—should be given
a chance to prove their worth in conducting honest, orderly and
peaceful elections next year.
Noting that there is one vacant
slot in the seven-man Comelec, Pimentel had urged President Arroyo
to heed his long-standing proposal to fill up the position from
among the nominees of the opposition if only to ensure that there
will be no repetition of the massive electoral fraud in 2004.
“I am not recommending anybody
in particular. It is up to the President whoever she wants to
appoint. What is important is the appointee meets the basic criteria
of integrity and competence,” he said.
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